I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for securing electrodes against an infant's skin, to allow the monitoring of the infant's vital signs.
II. Description of the Prior Art
When a child is born prematurely it is important that its breathing and heart rate be monitored on an almost continuous basis. In order to do so electrodes, designed to detect the vital signs, must be put in contact with the infant. Monitor lead wires connect the electrodes to a monitor. The monitor records the breathing and heart activity of the infant, allowing early detection of any emergency situation.
In the prior art electrodes had been secured to an infant using two different methods. In the first of these methods, the electrode was actually glued to the infant's skin. This is obviously an undesirable method because of the irritation caused by the attachment and removal of such devices.
The second method used to secure electrodes has been an electrode belt. The prior art belts when wrapped around the infants, would hold the electrodes in contact with the infant. These prior art belts had several problems. The most significant of the problems was skin irritation. The design of the belts caused an infant to perspire which in turned irritated the skin and could cause a severe rash.
Another problem with the prior art belts was the infant's access to the monitor lead wires. Whenever an electrode loses contact with the infant or a monitor lead is disconnected from the electrode, the monitor will give a loose lead alarm. Such an alarm can be both distressing and inconvenient for a parent. The design of the prior art belts gave an infant direct access to the connection between the monitor leads and the electrodes. As such, an infant could, and often did, pull the lead from the electrode causing the alarm to sound. Moreover, because the belt would cause discomfort for the infants, i.e. perspiration and resulting rash, infants had a tendency to move the belt causing the electrode to lose contact with the skin, and resulting in the sounding of the alarm. Therefore, there remains a need for a device to secure monitor electrodes to an infant without causing the infant discomfort, and which inhibits the infant from causing the monitor leads to disconnect from the electrodes or the electrode to separate from the infant.